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Testi Kebabı (Lamb Sealed and Cooked in a Clay Jug)

Name: Testi Kebabı (Lamb Sealed and Cooked in a Clay Jug)
Prep time: 3 h 22 min
Total time: 3 h 37 min
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: lamb shoulder roast — 800 g; onions — 240 g; sweet green pepper — 120 g; tomatoes — 350 g; garlic — 12 g; unsalted butter — 60 g; turkish red pepper paste — 15 g; salt — 10 g; freshly ground black pepper — 5 g; thyme — 1 g; bay leaf — 1 g; water — 100 g; all-purpose flour — 200 g; water — 100 g

Testi Kebabı (Lamb Sealed and Cooked in a Clay Jug) reads richness 6.9, umami 6.8 and allium 4.1 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Turkish main, about 3 hr 37 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 7.3 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 4.2 / 10
Sour & Bright — 2.1 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 2.3 / 10
Rich & Fat — 7.1 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 4.4 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Richness 6.9 · Umami 6.8 · Allium 4.1 · Salinity 3.6 · Sweetness 3.4 · Fruity 2.4 · Earthy 2.1 · Sourness 2.0 · Warm Spice 1.6 · Funk & Ferment 1.3 · Herbaceous 1.2 · Bitterness 1.1 · Heat 1.1 · Nutty 0.6 · Floral 0.6

What's in it (14)

lamb shoulder roast — 800 g
onions — 240 g
sweet green pepper — 120 g
tomatoes — 350 g
garlic — 12 g
unsalted butter — 60 g
turkish red pepper paste — 15 g
salt — 10 g
freshly ground black pepper — 5 g
thyme — 1 g
bay leaf — 1 g
water — 100 g
all-purpose flour — 200 g
water — 100 g

Time & effort: about 3 hr 37 min (3 hr 22 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 153.9 kcal, 10.6 g protein, 10.2 g fat, 10.1 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

You need an unglazed earthenware testi of about 1.5 litres with a narrow neck, sold in Avanos and by Turkish kitchen shops. Soak it in cold water for 30 minutes before you start so the clay does not crack in the oven.
Toss the lamb with the salt, black pepper, dried thyme and the pepper paste until every cube is coated.
Load the pot through the neck in this order: half the onion and pepper first as a cushion, then the lamb with the garlic cloves and bay leaves tucked among it, then the tomatoes and the rest of the onion and pepper on top. Drop in the butter and pour in the 100 ml of water. Do not fill past two-thirds — the contents must have room to boil.
Make a seal dough by mixing the flour with the 100 ml of water to a stiff paste, roll it into a disc and press it firmly over the mouth of the pot, crimping down the sides. This is not decoration; the pot has to be airtight or it becomes an ordinary stew.
Heat the oven to 180°C and stand the pot upright in a roasting tin. Cook for 3 hours. Nothing escapes, so you cannot check it — trust the time.
Rest 15 minutes, then take the pot to the table and break the neck open with one sharp tap of a heavy knife just below the dough seal, or lift the seal off if you would rather keep the pot. The steam that comes out is the point of the whole dish.
Pour into a wide bowl and serve with pilav or flatbread. The lamb will be falling apart and the vegetables will have collapsed into a dark, concentrated sauce.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Bosanski Lonac (The Bosnian Pot) — Bosnian
Macaroni Beef — American
Shepherd's Pie with Cheddar Mashed Potato Top — American
Chunky Beef and Vegetable Soup — Eastern European
Sunday Pot Roast with Carrots and Potatoes — American

Keep reading: what richness, umami, allium mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.